Wednesday, May 25, 2016

Radio & Records was an independent trade publication which published a weekly pop songs chart as a competitor to Billboard magazine. It ran from October 3, 1973 to August 4, 2006, when it was taken over by Mediabase, who has continued the chart to present day.

This list is based on song’s most weeks on that chart. Tie-breakers are broken based on which songs have the most points in Dave’s Music Database. Here’s the list:

Review:
Billy Reid was a famous bandleader in London in the 1930s who had the distinction of being the first British songwriter to top the pop charts in the United States. When Welsh singer Dorothy Squires joined his group, he often wrote songs specifically with her in mind – one of which was “The Gypsy.” The song, published in 1945, unfurls a story of someone seeking out the advice of a gypsy fortune teller. The narrator wants to believe his partner is faithful, which the gypsy confirms, although both know it isn’t true. WK

After Reid and his orchestra, fronted by Squires, introduced the song in the UK, WK it became a hit in the United States. Dinah Shore and the Ink Spots both topped the charts with the song, but the Ink Spots’ version was the monster hit, spending 13 weeks at #1 and becoming the biggest hit of 1946. WHC-65

This African-American pop vocal group found success with both white and black audiences. Their early version of doo-wop was fundamental in shaping rock and roll as well as R&B, leading to their induction in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. They racked up more than forty hits from the 1930s to the 1950s. Twenty of those songs were top ten hits and six of those went all the way to the top of the American pop charts.

In addition to the versions by Shore and the Ink Spots, “The Gypsy” charted four more times that year – Sammy Kaye (#3), Hildegarde with Guy Lombardo (#7), Hal McIntyre (#8), and Jan Garber (#14). The song has also been recorded by Louis Armstrong, Quincy Jones, Charlie Parker, Oscar Peterson, and Frank Sinatra. WK It appeared in Revolutionary Road, a 2008 movie starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet. WK

Resources and Related Links:

Note: Footnotes (raised letter codes) refer to sources frequently cited on the blog. Numbers following the letter code indicate page numbers. If the raised letter code is a link, it will go directly to the correct page instead of the home page of a website. You can find the sources and corresponding footnotes on the “Lists” page in the “Song Resources” section.

Sunday, May 1, 2016

Billboard magazine has given out several career-achievement awards through the years. The Artist Achievement Award was given from 1995-2005. The Millenium Award has been given out three times (2011, 2012, 2016) to recognize music singers and contributions. The Icon Award was first given in 2011. The Billboard Century Award was given from 1992-2006. Here are the recipients of those various awards: